Tablet box



J. F. FRALICK 2,906,428

Sept. 29, 1959 TABLET BOX Filed Oct. 28, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR JACK E FRAL/CK Sept 29, 1959 J. F. FRALICK 2,906,428

TABLET BOX Filed Oct. 28, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IIIIIIII lillllll ATTORNEY United States Patent TABLET BOX Jack F. Fralick, Baltimore, Md., assignor to Continental Can Company, Inc, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Application October 28, 1957, Serial No. 692,767

4 Claims. (Cl. 22031) This invention relates generally to containers and more particularly to new and useful improvements in a tablet box of the character which can be unlatched by pressing on the rear portion of the cover.

In tablet boxes of the character mentioned, it is generally desired that they be readily and economically manufactured, and be readily opened when access is desired to the tablets contained therein, and that they be positively locked against accidental opening.

A primary object of this invention is to provide an improved tablet box of the character mentioned including yieldable latch means on the front walls of a body and cover member, detachably engaging fulcrum means on the side walls of the cover and body members of the box for defining finger-engageable lever portions between said fulcrum means and the rear wall of the body member, and connecting means on the side walls between the fulcrum means and the rear walls of the box, the connecting means including portions urging the cover and body members into locked engagement when the box is subject to internal pressures due to an accordion folded advertising brochure, for example.

A further object of this invention is .to provide an improved tablet box of the character mentioned including a yieldable latch which can be released by finger pressure applied to the rear portion of the cover, in which the side walls of the cover and body member of the box have smooth and uninterrupted surfaces unbroken by protruding structure or the like other than indentations appearing in the side walls of the cover member and a cover nib formed on the front wall of the cover.

A further object of this invention is to provide in the connecting means of a tablet box of the character mentioned cooperating camming portions on the side walls of the cover and body members of the tablet box which tend to urge a yieldable latch means of the box into locked engagement when the tablet box is subject to internal pressures in its locked or latched condition.

With the above and other objects in view that will hereinafter appear, the nature of the invention will be more clearly understood by reference to the following detailed description, the appended claims and the several views illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a perspective view of the closed box of the invention.

Figure 2 a section taken on line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a section taken on line 33 of Figure 1, showing by means of dotted lines the position of tablets contained within the box and the manner in which a folded advertising brochure would be disposed therein.

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken on line 44 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a section similar to Figure 3, showing the relative position of the body and cover member when finger pressure is applied to open the box.

Figure 6 is a section similar to Figure 5, showing the Patented Sept. 29, 1959 the box is closed the side, front and rear walls of the.

cover member will extend around the respective side, front and rear walls of the body member, the front walls including yieldable latch means disengaged by means of finger-applied pressure on' a rear portion of the cover member rearwardly of separable fulcrum means provided on the side walls of the members, and the side walls of the members will include floating hinge means connecting the body and cover members together.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the improved tablet box is indicated generally at 10 including a body member 12 and a cover member 14. The body member includes a front wall 16, side walls 18 and 20, a rear wall 22 all integral with a bottom wall '24. The upper edge 26 of the front wall of the body member, see Figures 3 and 5, for example, is slightly offset relative to the general plane of the front wall to facilitate closing of the box.

The cover member 14 includes a front wall 28 integral with side walls 30 and 32 which are integral with a rear wall 34, the front, side and rear walls being integral with a top wall 36. The rear wall 34 is undercut or of a reduced width as indicated at 38 to permit ready movement of the lower edge of the cover member past the intersection of the rear and bottom walls of the body member when opening the tablet box as best illustrated in Figures 5 and 6.

The front, rear and side walls ofthe cover member will extend around the respective front, rear and side walls of the body member, and the overlapped respective front walls of these members include yieldable latch means indicated generally at 40. The latch means 40 comprises a centrally located nib portion 42, slightly elongated, and extending laterally from the outer surface of the front wall 16 of the body member. Formed on the frontwall 28 is a slightly elongated recess portion 44 engageable over the nib portion 42 in the mannerbest "illustrated in Figures 3, 5 and 6. The front wall 28 will yield sufficiently to permit the portion 44' tobe disposed over the nib 42. 7 w

The overlapped side walls-of the cover and body member include fulcrum means indicated generally at 46 in spaced relation from the rear walls of the respective members and above the bottom 24 of the body member defining the axis of rotation of the cover member relative to the body member as most clearly illustrated in Figure 5. By applying finger pressure r'earwardly of the fulcrum means 46 on the outer surface of the cover member 14, see the adjacent pairs of direction arrows in Figure 5, the yieldable latch means 40 may be disengaged permitting access to the contents of the box.

The fulcrum means comprises in each of the side walls 18 and 20 of the body member upwardly opening substantially V-shaped saddle portions indicated at 48. The saddle portions 48 open into the upper edges of the side walls 18 and 20 and toward the inner surface of the respective side walls 30 and 32 of the cover member. The lowermost portion of the saddle portions 48. is substantially semicircular as indicated at 50, diverging toward the front wall a slight degree as indicated at 52, and continuing in an arcuate developed cam surface 54 extending toward the rear wall 22. The fulcrum means 46 includes on the side walls 30 and32 of the cover member dimple or detent portions 56 having a circular configuration substantially conforming to the arcuate portion 59 of the saddle portions 48. Thus when finger pressure is applied in the manner previously mentioned, the detent portions 56 will be disposed in portions 50 of the saddle portions 48 permitting the cover 14 to be displaced in the manner indicated in Figure for disengaging the latch means 40, the'detent portion 56 ultimately moving out of the saddle portions 48 as seen in Figure 6.

Indicated generally at 58 between the fulcrum means 46 and'respective rear walls of the body and cover member are connecting means formed between the respective side walls 18 and 30, and 20 and 32. The connecting means 58 serve to retain the cover and body members together providing a floating hinge connection between these members. The connecting means 58 includes suitably formed recess or indentation portions 60 in aligned relationship on the side walls 18 and 20, the recessed portions 60 having a substantially D-shape .and includinga linear cam'edge portion 62 extending angularly from the bottom 24 of the body member toward the rear edge of the rear wall 22 at substantially 30 degrees, for example. The recessed portions-60 open toward the inner surfaces of the respective side walls 30 and 32. Formed on the side walls 30 and 32 of the cover member are inwardly extending dimple or detent portions 64 which will be confined within the recessed portions 60 of the connecting means 58, the detent portions being substantially circular and having a relatively reduced size as compared With the overall area of the D-shaped recess portions 60.

The dimple or detent portions 64 will permit the relative pivotal movement of the cover member 14 at the fulcrum means 46 for opening the tablet box in the manner previously described, the portions 64 being disposed in the position shown in Figure 3 when the box is closed, and moving downwardly and away from the cam edge 62 as the box is being opened, see Figures 5 and 6. However, when, the body member has a layer of tablets T disposed therein, the manufacturer generally inserts between the upper surface of the layer of tablets and the inner surface of the cover member 1-4 a multi-folded advertising brochure B which generally comprises a glossy or hard paper which when folded acts as a compression spring within the tablet box applying force between the cover and body members in the manner indicated by the dotted direction arrows. In the absence of the cam edge 62 of the connecting means 58, the folded brochure, es-

pecially if the box is dropped, for example, tends to displace the cover member off of the body member. However, in the present invention, engagement of the detent portions 64 with the cam edge 62 tends to urge the cover member 14 toward the right relative to the body member 12, see Figure 3, urging the yieldable latch means 40 into locked engagement.

Thus it will be observed that the fulcrum means has no positive starting point such as hinges, lugs, etc., and as the detent portions 56 of the side walls 30 and 32 move out of the saddle portion 48, they ride on the arcuate edge 54 of the saddle portion guiding the cover member 14 rearwardly of the body member 12 to facilitate the relative movement of the cover member toward the open position. This movement is permitted by the floating hinge relationship of the connecting means 58. Additionally, the cam edge 62 in cooperation with the dimple or detent portions 64 tends to retain the box in its closed condition at the yieldable latch means 40. It will be noted that as the cover member is being moved from the open position to closed position, the arcuate edges 54 when engaging the detent portions 56 will tend to cam the front wall 28 of the cover member past the slightly offset upper edge 26 of the front wall 16 of the body member- When the detent portions 56 are seated in the semi-cir- .onto the nib portion 42 as seen in Figure 3-.

It is to be understood that the form of the invention shown and described is to be. taken as the preferred example of the same and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of the parts may be made as do not depart from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A tablet box comprising a body and cover member, each having front, rear and side walls integral with a bottom and top respectively with said walls of said cover member surrounding the walls of said body member, said front walls of said body and cover members including yieldable latch means, said side walls of said cover and body member including detachably engageable fulcrum means spaced from said rear walls and above said bottom wall providing a finger-engageable lever portion extending toward said rear wall whereby said latch means may be disengaged, said side walls including aligned connecting means between said fulcrum means and rear walls retaining said body and cover member together and including portions permitting pivotal movement of said cover member relative to said body member about said fulcrum means and separation of said fulcrum means after a predetermined amount of pivotal movement has occurred, said connecting means including portions providing a floating hinge connection between said body and cover members, said connecting means including cumming portions engageable to urge said yieldable latch means into locked relationship against disengagement due to internal pressures withiri the box tending to urge the cover member away from the body member.

2. In a tablet box as set forth in claim 1 in which said latch, fulcrum and connecting means are formed integrally with said body and cover members, said fulcrum means comprising upwardly extending opposed saddle portions formed in the side walls of said body member opening into the upper edges of said side walls and toward the inner surfaces of the side walls of said cover member, and inwardly extending detent portions formed on the side walls of said cover member and extending into said saddle portions, said saddle portions including a lower arcuate seat conforming to and receiving said detent portions therein defining the fulcrum point of said cover member relative to said body member, said arcuate seat continuing in a rearwardly and upwardly extending-arcuate developed edge portion engageable with the detent portions for guiding the cover member reaiwardly relative to said body member when the box is being opened and forwardly when the box is being closed.

3. A tablet box comprising a body and cover member,

each having front, rear and side walls integral with a bottom and top respectively with said walls of said cover member surrounding the walls of said body member, said front walls of said body and cover members including yieldable latch means, said side walls of said cover and body member including detachably engageable fulcrum means spaced from said rear walls and above said bottom wall providing a finger-engageable lever portion extending toward said rear wall whereby said latch means may be disengaged, said side walls including aligned connecting means between said fulcrum means and rear walls retaining said body and cover together and including portions permitting pivotal movement of said cover member relative to said body member about said fulcrum means and separation of said fulcrum means after a predetermined amount of pivotal movement has occurred, said connecting means comprising aligned recessed portions formed on the side walls of said body member and opening toward the inner surface of the side walls of said cover member, said recessed portions including a linear camming edge portion extending angularly from the inner surface of the bottom of said body member toward the rear wall thereof, said cover including aligned detent portionsformed on the side walls thereof and exe ding into said recessed portions and engageable with said camrning edge portions when the box is closed wheresaid detent portions having a circular configuration and by internal pressure in the box from a folded advertising movable away from said camming edge portions when brochure or the like will tend to urge said detent portions 1116 box is op n. upwardly along the camming edge portions and draw the yieldable latch means into a locked condition. 5 References C'ted the file of this Patent 4. In a tablet box as set forth in claim 3 in which said UNITED STATES PATENTS recessed portions have a substantially D-shape and are 2,197,431 Nyden APR 1 1940 of a substantially larger area than said detent portions, 2,492,864 Hermani Dec. 27, 1949 

